Councillors are set to approve almost £8 million spend from Derby City Council's budget reserve to ensure work continues on the ongoing A52 road widening work.

Almost two weeks ago, the new Conservative administration at the council discovered that the original cost of almost £15 million was set to potentially double to £30 million and that up to £8 million was needed almost immediately to keep the project going.

But a report going to the council cabinet meeting on June 13 points out that it is not possible to provide a final cost at this stage "due to a range of complex circumstances surrounding elements of the detailed design scheme still to be completed and the progress of construction works on site". This raises questions over whether the final cost could be even higher?

Acting chief executive Christine Durrant's report also states: "There are clearly further risks associated with the regard to the fact that the design team is not in a position to provide an updated cost estimate with any level of confidence."

A familiar sight on the A52 for motorists for almost 12 months

And although a new council design team and contract manager are working with contractor Galliford Try to re-establish a realistic cost estimate and to control the costs, it is impossible to say what the final total could be.

When work started to create a new central reservation barrier, footbridge over the A52 and work on roads around the Wyvern entrance to Pride Park in October 2017, the estimated cost was £14.906 million but in March this year an extra £2.157 million was voted through by the then Labour council cabinet to fund some additional work to the main scheme.

Read More

So the approved cost of the work so far stands at £17.063 million, but in order to keep the work going, and to minimise costs, the council proposes further funding of £7.65 million to cover what work has already been done, to ensure more work is done and also to provide a £1 million contingency in case of higher costs.

This means that the project cost is currently £24.713 million and the extra money will come from the council's reserve, which stood at £35.518 million as of March 31.

The report refers to "very significant unforeseen cost increases in relation to the work already done", which will not only impact on the cost but also to the timescale for the completion of the work. It has been estimated that the original deadline for the finish of work of March 2019 could be exceeded by at least three months.

Typical rush-hour traffic on the A52 heading towards Derby.

Additional costs have come from night time working on the A52, unforeseen ground conditions and delays in finalising the "complex detailed design" relating to the new footbridge.

A more detailed estimate of the final cost is likely to be available in September and in the meantime an independent internal review has started, which will review how the scheme has progresses and what decisions have contributed to the current situation, and external auditors Ernst & Young have been made aware of the overspend and ongoing risks.

Read More

The council is looking to appoint independent technical and contract experts to give advice on the scheme moving forward.

The report points out that ending the contract and starting again would not be an option because the work is unfinished, the Derby Triangle development on Pride Park, which is likely to create 3,000 jobs, would not go ahead and the Government would probably claw back key funding.

The full implications of the final cost for the council and where the money will come from are unknown currently.

Read More

Councillor Asaf Afzal, who was the cabinet member responsible for the project before May 3, when Labour lost control of the authority, said he became aware of a 14% increase in costs in February but was assured it was "normal" by officers and that he did not become aware of the full funding gap until just after the local election. Labour leader Councillor Lisa Eldret has said she is happy to cooperate with any inquiry.

Councillor Chris Poulter (Image: Derby Telegraph)

Council leader Chris Poulter said: “We have ordered inquiry into the situation to find out why nothing was done to investigate the situation before it got to this level.

“We have not inherited any information from the previous Labour administration to indicate what has happened but we now have to sort it out.

"We are not sure of the impact on the council budget at this stage until the final figures are known."

The council cabinet will take place at the Council House from 6pm on June 13.